Dough divider



w. G. KIRCHHOFF DOUGH DIVIDER 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 28, 1924 une 5, 1928.

W. G. KIRCHHOFF DOUGH DIVIDER F1edIFeb.2 8, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 lllloxllullllllrlllhl l I i lllllllllllllllllllll IL awww.;

l 1,672,162 Wr G. KIRCHHOFF DoUGH DIVLDER June 5, i928.

"Filed Feb. 28, 1924 K 5. sheetssheet 4' D A 'Y v Y:jwwntoi:

hij WILL/AM G. KlRcHHoFE June s, 192s. v 1,612362 W.' G. KIRCHHOFF DOUGH DIVIDER Filed Feb; 28, 1924 5 sheets-sheer 5 los Patented `lune 1928.

UNITEosTATl-:s

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM G. KIRCHHOFF, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOB TO THE IJ. H. DAYVCOH- I Pm OF. CINCINNATI, 0HIO, A CORPORATION Ol' OHIO.

DOUGH DIVIDEB.

application mea February as, 1924. Lamar n. nasse.

An object of my invention is to provide a' simple and etlicient divider for operation on plastics such as dough.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device of the class described that' will automatically control and ydeter-Inineqthe maximum pressure that ma be exerted upon va plastic mass .upon Aw ich the device operates. i v

Another object of my invention ist-to pro- 4vide a device that is 'compactand that requires a minimum of space and comprises a minimum of parts.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein and disclosed in 'the accompanying drawings, in which:

/Fig. 1 is. a side elevation of a device bodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation ofv a device embodyingmy invention.

F ig. 3 is an enlarged fragmental side`elevation showing parts of fthe 'device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 ,is "an enlarged sectional view on linev4-4 of Fig.2. A Fig. 5 is a-sectional view on line 5--5 o Fi 3. Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmental detail lview showing parts of a valve control mechanism, all of which form details of my invention."

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on line 7.- -7 0f F ig, 3. A I

Fig. 8 is atop plan View of a hopper forming ay detail of my invention.

, Fig. 9 isa sectional view on line 9 9 of Figa My device comprises a base 7 supporting the spaced sides 8 and 9. The base supports a motor 10 driving a shaft 11 through a chain and sprocket mechanism 12. shaft 11 drives a shaft 13 by way ofthe meshing gears 14 `and 15, said shafts be- .ing rotatably supported lby the -sides 8 and 9. The shaft 13 extends throughfthe side 9 and carrieson its outer end a'g'ar 16in mesh with a gear 17 mounted on a' shaft 18 extending through both sides 8- and 9.

The vside of the shaft extending outwardlyA v 51 being contained withinthe .cylinder 40 beyond side 8 carries a bevel gear-19 driving a bevel gear 20 mounted on the shaft 21.

shaft 34. The rollers abut upon the pe- The shaft 23 andcarrying the gear 26 that engages a gear 27 mounted on the shaft 28 carrying a roller 29. A shaft 30 parallel with the shaft 28 and disposed below and .at a distance outwardly from the shaft 28 carries a roller 31 and said roller and shaft may be driven from the gear 26 or may be driven from somevother source. The rollers 31 and 29 are used for su porting the belts that pass thereover as will he explained herea ter.

The shaft 18 has mounted on it cams such as 32 for` actuating valve control shafts'33 and 34. By reference to Fig. 6 the structure will be more fully appreciated. The shaft 18 has mounted on it cams such as 32 that are engaged by the vrollers 35 and 36 qcarried i by the blocks 37 and 38. The block 37 carries the shaft 33 'and the block 38 carries the ripheries 39 of the cams wherefore as the shaft 18 is rotated the shafts 33 and 34 are actuated in ,conformity with -the cycle established by the contour or periphery of the cams. `The shafts 33 and 34 control the action of pistons contained within the cylinder 40.

The cylinder 40 has formed within it a pair of piston chambers within each of which is disposed a' piston. The piston 41 contained within the chamber42 is controlled by the shaft 34 and carries a piston rod 43 extending forwardly from the c linder 40. The'piston 44 is disposed within t e chamber 45, and carries a forwardly extending piston fshaft 46`disposed above and in substantial parallelism with the piston rod 43. The pistons are controlled in substantially the same way, wherefore an explanation of one will suffice. In Fig.. 5 is Ashown a sectional view through chamber 42 containin piston 41. It will dbe observed that a sli e'valve 47 controls communicatin between the opposite ends of the chamber 42 with the exhaust 48; jf "1`he slide valve isconnected withI the shaft 34 'by' way of a crankshaft 49, carrying at its outer end the crank 50 pivotally con- 'nected to the shaft 34. The icrank lshaft 49 has mounted onl it a crank 51, the crank and carrying a pin 52 that engages a blockl 53 mounted for reciprocating in a way 54 motion applied to e shaft 49 will serve n to actuate the slide valve 47, see Fig. 5, so

as to alternately dispose ducts and 56 in communication with the exhaust 48. The

chamber 57 within which the slide valve 47A may be reciprocated, contains fluid under pressure, wherefore it will be evident, by reference to Fig. 5, that the ducts 55 and 56 will also serve to alternately vadmit fiuid under pressure into the chamber 42 for operation upon the piston 41. Attention is called to the right hand end of the piston and chamber structure, shown in Fig. 5, from which it will be apparent that the reduced end 58 on the piston, may enter the recess 59 of the chamber 42, thereby serving' as a dashpot for checking the motion of the piston. By reference to Figs. 3 and 5, it will be evident that the by-pass 60 provided between the righthand ortion of chamber 42 and exhaust 48 may e brou ht into play or checking the forward or le ward motion of thepiston 41 shown in Fig. 5. Any suitable valve mechanism 61 ma be provided for controlling the How of flui under pressure through the by-pass 60 thereby controlling the stroke of the iston 41. There is no b -pass provided or the piston and cham er associated with the piston 44 for reasons that will-.be evident hereafter. The exhaust and luid supply may be connected with the cylinder 40 in any suitable manner,

such as by pipes 62 and 63. Any suitable means for example a pump 110, may be employed for placing under ress'ure, the fluid used with machines em odying my ation of the pistons.

The piston 44 is used for reciprocating a knife or cut olf late 70 that moves in suitable ways provided in the housing 71 supported by the sides 8 and 9. The housing has formed in it a chamber 72 in which' chamber is contained a.l plunger 73 carried by piston rod 43. The chamber 72 may communicate with the lower end of the way 74 extending through the hopper 75. TheV knife 70 controls` communication between the way 74 and chamber 72. A drum 76 mounted for oscillation carries reciprocating plungers 77 contained in pockets 7 8; The

- pockets may be brought into registration with the chamber 72 and may receive charges of dough from said chamber. The drum'is oscillated by means of a link 79 having its one end mounted eecentrically and rotatably on the gear 17 and having it other end pivotally mounted on a crank 80 mounted coaxially with the drum. The plungers 77 carried by the drum are moved to the left in the chamber 78, see Fig. 1, by the dough entering from chamber 72. The housing 71 is provided with an arcuate face that engages the drum and serves to seal the pockets as the drum moves the pockets/from registration with the chamber 72. Thev drum Lemma 'is adapted to discharge dough from the pockets 78 onto the belt 81 extending below the drum. The belt 8l passes about the rollers 29 and 82 and discharges onto a belt 83 that may be disposed at one side of the device and that may pass about roller 31.

88 which shaft is pivotally supported by brackets 203. The brackets 203 are fixedly mounted on the drum 76. The shaft 88 has xedly mounted on it a sleeve 204 carrying arms 202. Each arm 202 carries at its upper end a cross bar 210 that carries a pair of rollers 211, one each of which engages a screw 205, one each of which screws is carriedby one of each of the plungers 77. The sleeve 204 carries a fork 89 having a bifur- -cated upper end. The branches 90 of the fork receive between them the adjustment screw 91. The 4adjustment screw has its one end connected with the drum 76 and'has an adjustment nut 92 mounted at its other end. The drum may be provided with a way as shown at 93 for receiving. the first mentioned end of screw 91, the screw having a periph- Ieral lor annular groove 94 that receives the walls 95 of the way 93. A transverse pin 96 carried by the branches 90 of the fork is provided with a bore through which the screw 91 may slide.y The relative adjustment of the screw 91 and the nut 92 controls the general adjustment of all of the plungers 77. The plungers 77 are individually adjustable by means of adjustable screw bolts 205 of which one is mounted on each plun'ger 77 and a transverse bar 210 carried by 4the arms 202 and vwhich bar 210, the screws 205 may engage. From the foregoing it will be evident that when the screws 205 engage the bar'210 the movement of the plungers is arrested thereby limiting the ca acity of the` pockets and that when the rum is ac- -tuated to bring the roller 200 into engagement with the stop bar 201 the shaft 88 and the arms 202 are actuated for moving the plungers7 7 outwardly of the drum thereby discharging the contents of the pockets 78.

The hopper has at its upperV end a peripheral pocket 101 that may contain an edlble oil that is fed ovei` the inside walls of the hopper for precl ding adhesion of dough on the `hopper and for facilitating the movement of dough through the hopper. The oil is fed to the walls of the hopper by means of revoluble rolls 102 that lie in the pocket 101 and are engaged by Scrapers 103 from which scrapers wall. The rolls' carry intermeshing bevel gears at their ends, and one roll'carries 1n addition a ratchet Wheel 104 that is engaged by' a pawl-105 oscillated from the drum 76v 106 having a depending ipteripheral flange and thereby moving the -107 that precludes doug rom entering the pocket 101. The Scrapers 103 discharge on the hopper wall below the flange 107.

The operation of my device is as follows: The .dough in the hopper 75 may slide downwardly through the hopper into the chamber 72. The knife 70y is first moved to its right hand limit of travel whereupon the plunger'73 is moved to itsy right hand limit of travel, see Fig. 1. This orderQ is followed so` that the movement of the plunger will serve to draw dough into the chamber 72. The action of the cams controllin the pistons within the ,cylinder 40 is such tilat the knife 70is first moved to the left for severing the dough in the hopper from the dough in the chamber 72, whereupon the plunger 73 is moved `to the left thereby pushing the dough from the chamber 72 into the pockets in the drum 76, plugers 77 inwardly of the drum. The drum 76 is then actuated about its axis so as to bring the pockets in the drum beyond the chamber 72, this action being ut1lized to sever the dou h in the' pockets in the drum from dough t at may still be contained in the chamber 72. This movement of the drum is also .utilized for actuating the ratchet mechanism employed for feeding the lubricating oil' from the pocket 101 over the scrapper 103 to the inside walls of the hopper'. The movement of the drum about its axis is alsovemployed in effecting discharge of the ockets 1n the drum. By meansof the yo e 89 vand the stantially uniform weightto adjustment screw 91 and the adjustment collar or nut associated with said screw it is possible to generally adjust the stroke of all of the plungers 77 at one time While fine individual adjustment of said plunger's is made by vscrews 205, thereby giving suball of the lum s of dough discharged or divided by tile several pockets 78 and their associated mechanisms. After fthe dough has been discharged from the pockets 78 the drum is moved in acounter clock-wise direction for bringing the pockets again into communication with the chamber 72. In the lmean-y while the knife 70 has been drawn to the right whereupon the plunger 73 is drawn to the right and more dough may feed from the hopper into the chamber 72. By lubricating the inside walls 'of the hopper the the yoil gravitates over the hopper ythe chamber,

a reciprocating movement of the dough through the hopper is made prompt and speedy. The by-pass permits modification of the pressure that is directed upon the dough contained in the chamber 72 for moving such dough into the pockets 78. 1t will be readily evident from the'disclosure herein that-although but one bay-pass is shown it is possible to extend this i ea for giving various desired pressures under which the dough is to be worked,

The valve 111 may close olf communication between h the fluid pressure und the cylinder 40 whereby to render the device stationary, during -such periods the fluid under pressure would pass through relief valve 300 and by-pass 301. 300 also controls the maximum pressure that {[ray be directed upon the dough in chamber pistons, a hopper, a reciprocating knife carried by the housing controlling communication between the hopper and the chamber and connected with, the second piston, a drum having a pocket, the drum being lnovable relatively to the chamber for bringing the pocket in and out of registration withV a plunger within the pocket, and means for actuating the drum and the plunger within the pocket for alternately receiving dough in the pocket, from the chamber and for discharging the pocket.

2. In a device of the class described the combination of a pair of fluid actuated pistons, a housing having a chamber therein, a hopper for communication withrthe chamber, a plunger within the chamber and con'- nected with one o f the pistons, a knife connected with the second piston and controlling communication between the hopper and the chamber, an oscillating drum associated with the housing and having a pocket for intermittent -registration with the chamber, plunger in the pocket, means for oscillating t e drum and for controlling the movement of the pistons, and means associated with the drum and the plun er in the pocket for discharging the poc et when the pocket is out of registration with the chamber.

3. In a device of the Aclass described the combination of a pair ofl fluid actuated pistons', a housing having a chamber. therein, a hopper for communication with the chamber, a. plunger within the chamber and con- -80 The relief valve lill) nected with one of the pistons, a knife conthe chamber, an oscillating `drum associated with the housing and havinga pocket for intermittent registration with the chamben,` a reciprocating plunger in therpocket., means for oscillating the drum and for controlling the movement of the pistons, means associ-t ated with the drum and the plunger in the pocket for discharging the pocket when the pocket is out of registration with the chambeil and meansl for controlling the stroke of the iston associated with the-plunger withv in t e chamber.

4. In a device of the class described the combination of a pair of fluid actuated pistons, a housing having a chamber therein, a-

' hopper for. communication with the chamber,

a plunger within the chamber and connected with one of the pistonsa knife connected with the second piston and controlling communication between .the hopper and the chamber, an oscillating drum associated with the housing and havingl a pocket yfor inter- `mittent registration with the chamber, a reciprocating plunger in the pocket, means for oscillating the drum and forI controlling the movement. of the pistons, means associated with the drum and the plunger in the pocket for discharging the pocket Whenthe pocketk is out of registration with the chamber and means for cushioning the strokes ofthe pisvmunic'ation between the hopper and the chamber, an oscillating drum associated with the housing and having a pocket 4for intern mittent registration with the chamber, a reciprocating plunger in thevpocket, means for oscillating the drum and for controlling the movement of the pistons, means associated with the drum and the plunger in the pocket for discharging the pocket when the pocket is out of registration withl the chamber, means for controlling `the stroke of the piston associated with the plunger within the chamber and means for cushioning the strokes of the pistons.

6. In a dough working machine the combination of a hopper having ldepending walls andhaving an opening at its top, a pocket' extending about the hopper opening adapted .to receive an edible lubricant, a roller within the pocket, a scraper engaging the roller for receiving `lubricant from the roller and for discharging thelubricant upon the wall of the hopper and means for rotating the roller.

7. In a dough working machine the con/1-I bination of a hopper having an opening, a pocket extending about the opening adapted to receive an edible lubricant, and a rotating rollercon'tained Within the pocket for discharging the lubricant'from the pocket into the hopper. y

8. In a dough Working machine the combination of-a hopper having side walls and an opening in its top, aA pocket lextending about the'hopper opening adapted to receive an -edible lubricant, a roller within the pocket adapted to contact the lubricant and to carry the lubricant on its surface, means fon transferring the lubricant from the surface`of the roller4 to the side walls of the hopper, and v means for rotating the roller.

9 In a device of the class described the combination of a pair of iuid actuated pis- -tons, a housing having a chamber formed therein, a plunger within the chamber and connected with one ofthe pistons, a hopper, a knife controlling communication between the hopper and the chamber and connected with the second piston, a drum having a pocket, the drum being movable relatively to the chamber, aplunger within the pocket, and means for actuating the drumand the plunger within the pocket for' alternately receiving dou h in the pocket from the-chamber and for ischarging the pocket.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 22nd day of February, 1924. i'

WILLIAM G. KIRCHHOFF. 

